From open houses to traveling abroad, each college has its own way of
attracting graduate applicants

by KELSIE HAHN and GUILHERME CUNHAThe Daily Cougar

Graduate recruitment efforts usually involve traveling
to information sessions and college fairs around the country, and talking
to students about pursuing higher degrees at UH.

The College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics,
however, is taking a more pro active approach and working to entice minority
students to UH through the Alliances for Graduate Education and the Professoriate
program.

"There's all kinds of actual components to that program,"
Stuart Hall, associate dean for graduate studies and international programs
said.

Christina Chan, AGEP director, said in addition to
workshops about applying to graduate school and preparing graduate students
to become professors, mentoring and a summer undergraduate research programs
have been incorporated into the program.

"We encourage undergraduates to get research experience,
which is usually a good precursor to going to graduate school," she said.
"There are also graduate students that are involved, and we try to set
up a mentoring relationship where we have faculty and graduate students
mentoring undergrads."

AGEP's effect on graduate admissions for NSM is hard
to gauge, Chan said, as the program is only entering its third summer at
UH and there is no baseline data, though she said she is looking to improve
mentoring and increase focus on retention rates.

Hall said overall NSM's graduate enrollment has remained
stable in the 750 to 800 range, though a shift in the level of students
has taken place.

"Now, we have more doctoral students than we used
to have and fewer master's students," he said. "The mix has just changed."

AGEP is unusual as far as graduate recruitment at
UH goes, as most recruiting is done at the department level, rather than
collegewide.

"Most of the graduate recruitment in NSM is done
at the department level. There's very little central recruiting done,"
Hall said.

Catherine Patterson, associate dean for graduate
studies in the College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences, said CLASS
handles recruitment much the same way.

"As a college, we're more trying to make sure that
… students who come looking for this type of information can find it well
and find it easily," she said, noting that many departments are looking
to expand their efforts outside the immediate Houston area.

Such efforts, however, take money that isn't always
available.

"Obviously funding is an issue," she said. "Some
of (the departments) would have to be able to go out to these recruitment
fairs that there are around the country. Some programs find those very
useful to attend … but again, you have to have the resources to send someone
out there."

The College of Technology reaches out through open
houses to local students and fairs as well as pursuing students internationally,
Heidar Malki, associate dean for research and graduate studies, said.

"Recently, we have made trips to India, Finland and
Vietnam to establish cooperative exchange programs," he said, noting that
the college has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Delhi College
of Engineering to work together.

The largest effect on acquiring new students, Malki
said, has been the college's success in catering to workplace demand.

"Many of our alumni contact the College of Technology
(to) hire our new graduates," he said. "The number of job posting requests
the College of Technology receives continues to increase."

For undergraduates, the Honors College has also witnessed
a decline in applications for the 2007 school year, though demand still
exceeds open spots in the program.

"Our current applications just topped 600. … That
puts us in line historically for this time of year with 2003, 2004. It
puts us roughly 90 applications behind 2005, and 40 applications behind
2006," Executive Associate Dean for The Honors College Bill Monroe said.

Monroe said, however, that the numbers are not threatening
because the college regularly accepts 350-400 students annually, and efforts
to attract more freshmen continue.

"Our recruitment efforts have consisted of the open
houses, the honors high school banquet, participation in the University's
programming (UH nights, Cougar Preview and Cougar Fridays), as well as
direct mailings to students who do well on standardized tests, and letters
and phone calls to qualified University applicants to let them know about
The Honors College and to encourage them to apply," Monroe said.